


The One That Got Away

by TheOrgasmicSeke



Series: The Destruction and Resurrection of Armin Arlert [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Armin becomes a heartless bastard, Blood and Gore, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Jearmin - Freeform, M/M, Military, Sequel, he's pretty broken
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-09
Updated: 2014-02-09
Packaged: 2018-01-11 17:08:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1175650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheOrgasmicSeke/pseuds/TheOrgasmicSeke
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a cold, dark and empty world. Where I have no choice to run for my life because I made a promise. I promise I had to keep. But... What on Earth is behind those looming walls in the distance? Zombie Apocalypse AU. Jearmin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The One That Got Away

**Author's Note:**

> Oh you know, I had to continue this.
> 
> Warning: Blood and gore. Reference to a major character death.
> 
> Disclaimer: Eh you know they're not mine.
> 
> Be sure to read Take My Hand before this otherwise it will not make sense.

The sound the arrow made as it sunk into the thick skull was a soft "thunk" that went right to my stomach. My lips curled up into a snarl as I lowered my crossbow and slowly stalked up to the crumbled body. Dead. It was dead. My eyes narrowed slightly as I pressed the heel of my boot into its decaying face and grabbed the end of my arrow, tugging till it pulled free from the caved in head of the creature. My nose crinkled and I wiped the blood from the arrow onto my dark jeans. Satisfied it was clean enough, I reloaded my crossbow with it before stomping the rest of the creature head in. The skull crushed, blood gushing though I didn't care. Satisfied, I gave the crushed head a good kick before turning away and heading back toward the shelf I had originally set out for.

The pharmacy had been ransacked plenty of times before but I figured it wouldn't hurt to look around. There were only two walkers that I took out easy enough and now I had a chance to walk around without a worry. I hoped to find something useful. Some Advil wouldn't hurt considering I had gotten a lot of headaches recently. Perhaps I'd get lucky. Perhaps not.

* * *

_I watched in slight amusement as Jean paced around the small room, ducking his head every once in a while to avoid hitting the lower beams while he took inventory on everything we had just managed to collect. The smile on his face was enough to make my heart pound as I sat on our makeshift bed with my legs crossed under me and my back pressed to the wall. His deep voice carried over the silence of the attic we had made our home though I was hardly listening to the words that were spoken._

_Earlier that day, Jean and I had set out for a supply trip to a local Wal-Mart that we had passed not long ago. After finding shelter in a home that had a rather convent attic, we planned our trip. We were hoping to find food that could last a while. Anything that we could to prevent us from having to leave our safe little haven. The giant store had been crawling with walkers. We had expected that. But between the two of us, Jean's skills with a gun and my brain and crossbow, we managed to take them all out without an issue. And then, we had a field day._

_It was obvious no one had even tried to raid the place considering it was crawling with the undead inside and out. But Jean and I were... Well, we were probably stupid. But we were determined and between the two of us, we made a perfect team. We gathered everything we could managed to carry in the four large duffel bags we had found and managed to make it back to our little haven without much of a problem. Well, there were a few problems but we made it back safe and sound with three of the original four bags. Jean said he planned on running back for the fourth after we rested a bit._

_"I think we have enough bandages, medicine, and food to last us a few months." Jean spoke with a grin on his face, turning to face me with his hands on his hips. "We have to go back for the other bag though. That had all the ammo." He tilted his head slightly and I realized I had stared. "You alright?"_

_Heat came to my cheeks and I quickly averted my eyes to the organized piles of supplies against one wall. Jean and I had traveled together for almost a month and yet it really felt like so much longer than that. I bit my lower lip and forced a smile as I met his questioning golden eyes once again. "I'm fine. Still running through a little adrenaline. I can't believe we did it."_

_A grin spread over his handsome face and he bent down to grab a small plastic bag before coming over toward me. "Neither can I to be honest." He chuckled softly, plopping down on the mattress beside me and dropped the bag between his spread legs. "Pretty sure we've reached a new level of crazy, Armin." I shivered slightly at the way he spoke my name as he started to dig through the plastic bag he brought over with him. He handed me a bottle of water, a protein bar and a book. I blinked at the last thing, dropping the water and bar between my legs to grasp the book with both hands._

_"What's this?" I asked softly, letting my fingers run over the hard cover of the rather thick book._

_Jean shrugged from beside me, shifting to press his shoulder to mine as he glanced at the book in my hands. "I passed a book shelf and thought you might want a few. I figured that since we won't have to go outside much for a while, you might get bored."_

_"Bored?" I snorted softly, glancing to the side and nearly froze at those golden eyes only a few inches away. My breath caught in my throat and I had to push past my nerves to respond. "How could I get bored with the great Jean Kirshstein at my side?" I managed to speak normally which surprised the hell out of me._

_Jean perked an eyebrow, a soft smirk curling to his lips. "You can only handle me in small doses, Armin." He teased, probably not even realizing how true his words were._

_I tore my eyes away from his to focus on the book in my hands. "How many did you grab?"_

_"As many as I could fit in the bag." He flicked his hand over to the line-up of supplies and I noticed the stack of books near some boxes of medicine. "If you don't read too fast, they should last a while." I bit my lip as I pried open the book, letting my eyes scan over the words and summary. "I wasn't exactly sure what you'd like but I grabbed a few different things." He glanced down at the open book in my hands. "That one's a, uh, corny love story."_

_I laughed softly, flattening the book in my lap as I skimmed over the first page. "Nothing wrong with a little love story. As long as it's done well."_

_"What do you define as 'done well'." Jean asked softly, seemingly interested in what I had to say._

_I shrugged, feeling the way our shoulders and arms brushed against one another. "Realistic. There's no such thing as love at first sight nor do people just fall in love without issues or effort."_

_"You're pretty critical, huh?" His chest rumbled with his light laughter. "Love is love, Armin. You fall whether you want to or not. That's kinda the best thing about it."_

_"So you've been in love before?" I questioned softly, my eyes still on the open book in my lap._

_Jean paused and I could tell he was thinking his answer over. I glanced to him from the corner of my eye and noticed how his brow furrowed in pain and he glanced to the floor. "I have. It was wonderful and painful. Because he's gone now and there's nothing I can do about that."_

_My eyebrow shot up and I shifted, turning my head to face the other male in slight surprise. "You... You never said there was someone."_

_Jean shrugged slightly, placing the plastic bag to the side as he brought his knees to up to allow his arms to rest on them. His eyes were still focused on the blankets underneath us but I couldn't tear my eyes away from his face. "You never asked really." He paused, taking in a deep breath before he started to speak. "His name was Marco. We'd been friends since middle school. He was my best friend." Green eyes and raven haired flashed before my eyes before they were gone. "By the time high school rolled around, it was just natural for us to... fall into each other. It wasn't easy." I chewed on my bottom lip, thinking of those green eyes and thick raven locks of my once best friend. "People weren't really accepting of the gay thing in my home town, you know? So we kept it a secret." Jean leaned his head back against the wall, letting his eyes raise to the ceiling. "Loving Marco was just natural to me."_

_I continued to chew on my lip, letting the book fall from my hands as I shifted to my knees, facing Jean. He noticed my movement, letting his eyes shift away from the ceiling to meet mine. "I... Me too." I admitted softly, lowering my eyes to my tight fists that rested on my knees. "I fell in love with my best friend." I hadn't thought about Eren since meeting Jean though those green eyes haunted my dreams._

_Jean's lips quirked up into a soft smile as he watched me from the corner of his eye. "Then you understand."_

_I shook my head, blonde locks falling into my eyes. "No, because Eren didn't... He didn't return my feelings. It was okay though because, He was still my best friend. I was happy to have that than nothing at all."_

_Jean hummed softly, lifting a hand to brush blonde hair away from my face. His finger slipped over my flushed cheek and moved to cup that cheek, his thumb slipping under my chin to force my head up. Those golden eyes were comforting as they peered into mine. "His loss. I'm sorry, Armin." He mumbled softly._

_I let out a soft breath, feeling my heart pound in my chest as I searched his eyes. "I'm sorry you lost Marco." I didn't have to ask. I didn't want to ask. All I needed to know was that Jean was here and Marco was not._

_I noticed the way his eyes glanced down to my lips and it was all I needed to know. Though the mood had shifted since we came back, the celebration was still in the air and neither of us could resist it. My eyes slipped shut as I leaned forward, meeting Jean halfway as those warm and slightly chapped lips pressed to mine._

* * *

All I could see was black. It was a sea of black. My breath caught in my throat and I immediately cut the engine. The keys fell to the floor as I quickly locked all the doors of the small Honda that had become my home. My heart pounded and the cold rush of fear shot through my entire body and remained as I scrambled to tuck myself under the dash on the passenger side of the car. I grabbed the bloody jacket from the backseat as I did so and threw it over my head, cutting off all light as I curled into a ball.

I found my breath once again but it only came in soft puffs that I did my best to keep quiet. My heart racing, my body shook but I remained still under the dash, glad for once that I was so goddamn small. Minutes ticked by and I thanked whatever god that was watching over me that I had seen the sea before it was too late. I almost drove into that. The sea of Zombies. There had to be at least a thousand of them. I've encountered hordes before but _nothing_ like this. This was terrifying. This was reality. This was proof that the human race was _losing._

I flinched when I heard something knock against the front of the car. I remained still, clapping a hand over my mouth to hold back the sobs that threatened to escape my mouth. I was trapped. Fully and utterly trapped. If they discovered me, I was dead. But what would be so wrong with that? Still, I swallowed hard, forcing back the sobs as tears of fear streamed down my cheeks. I hoped the bloody jacket and steel of the car would prevent even one from smelling me. As long as I remained still, I shouldn't be discovered. But there were _so_ many.

My body shook uncontrollably when the overwhelming sounds of groans reached my ears. The car shook slightly, bodies knocking against it as the creatures continued walking on. So many... So fucking many. It was utterly terrifying. There was no way I could have escaped them. I was stuck and I knew it. I was prey and I was stuck under the dash of the car, praying to whatever god there was that I wouldn't be discovering. Dying was one thing. Being ripped apart while alive was a completely different thing.

A faint whimper came from the back of my throat as I closed my eyes tightly, tears still streaming down my face when the car shook rather violently. _Please... Oh god please. I can't die like this. I can't. I'm not ready... Oh god I'm not ready. Purpose or no purpose I don't want to die like this_. I pressed my hand harder against my mouth, trying to keep from letting out any sound that would attract attention. _I'm sorry Jean... I'm so sorry. I can't... I don't know if I can do this anymore. I can't live like this. How can you expect me to live like this?! Listen to them! There's too many... I can't... I won't survive this... and I'm sorry... F-forgive me..._

* * *

_"I don't know, Armin. I'm pretty sure-" Jean cut himself off, snapping his attention away from me to glance around. I felt his hand squeeze mine rather tightly and I glanced up, brow furrowed as I tried to see what made him stop. "Did you hear that?"_

_I blinked at his tense words, shaking my head as I glanced around the road we were walking down. His pistol rested in his free hand while mine was occupied with my crossbow. A bag rested over my shoulder and we were returning back to our little attic home after a quick run for some water. It was our first outing since our Wal-Mart trip almost four months ago. We didn't run into too much trouble but I felt the familiar rock of fear drop into my stomach._

_That rock became a boulder when Jean glanced behind us and his eyes became so large I thought they would pop out. "Shit." He hissed, grasping my hand and then took off. I stumbled after him, trusting his instinct as we ran. But there was one problem. Jean was at least a foot taller than me which meant he could run faster. My hand slipped from his and before I could stop myself, I crumpled to the ground, tripping over a piece of wood in the road._

_"Armin!" Jean reacted quickly, kneeling to my side as he tried to help me to my feet. I winced in pain, knowing I managed to hurt my ankle. Of fucking course. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." His apologies were whispered and rushed as he pulled me to my feet. "But we have to move." He grabbed my arm and we were off again._

_I took the chance to look behind us and realized that was a horrible mistake. Not even half a mile away was at least a hundred of them. All moving together like a horde. Moving toward us. I hissed with gritted teeth as I pushed myself forward, ignoring the shocks of pain in my leg as I ran with him. But that wasn't enough for Jean. Suddenly, he grabbed my arm and pulled, using his strength and momentum to pull me onto his back. I grunted in surprise but let my thighs grasp his sides and my arms to hold onto his shoulders. I didn't question him. Now free from having to pull me along, Jean picked up speed and took off down the road._

_The house we called home wasn't far from where we had started running. Jean sped into the house and dropped me to my feet. I hurried up the stairs as he locked and barricaded the door. Jean was not far behind me and he quickly picked me up, lifting me on his shoulder so I could grab the latch that pulled down the ladder to the attic. I tugged hard, pulling it down with a loud thump. Jean pushed me up onto the stairs and I hurriedly crawled up them. He was right behind me again as I crawled toward our makeshift bed, tossing the bag into the corner. Jean tugged the stairs back up, securely locking us away from the rest of the world._

_I collapsed on the bed, panting deeply as I tried to find my breath. Jean was immediately at my side, rolling me over onto my back before pulling me into his lap. I gasped softly, pressing against his chest as he leaned back against the wall and buried his head into my lap. We were silent as we sat there, trying to regain our breath as we leaned against each other._

_Jean's arms were tight around my body but they made me forget the aching pain in my ankle temporarily. The only sound was the puffs of our breath and I felt the way both of our bodies shook. Adrenaline and fear flowed through our veins but we were safe now. There was no way anything that wasn't human could get to us. But that didn't make the fear go away. I'd never seen so many walkers in one group. It was terrifying._

_"I'm sorry." Jean finally mumbled and it occurred to me that he certainly apologized to me a lot. His voice was soft against my hair and I pushed from his chest to meet his eyes. There was a soft smile on his face but I could see the swirl of emotions in his golden gaze._

_I returned his soft smile and slipped my hands over his cheeks, cupping his face in my hands. I didn't speak. I just leaned up and pressed my lips to his softly. He let out a relieved sigh at the soft touch, his arms tightening around me as he returned the kiss. For a few moments, he just allowed me to lean against him with our lips moving together slowly and softly. It was a comforting a kiss. A kiss that reminded both of us that we were indeed alive and still together._

_I pulled back with a soft gasp when sounds of groans reached us. The horde was passing by. I quickly pulled out of Jean's grasp and crawled to the edge of our makeshift bed, peaking around the thick curtain of the only window in the whole room. Fear sparked down my spine but it was soothed as Jean moved beside me, his hand warm on my lower back as he peeked over my shoulder._

_"That really was too close. I didn't expect anything like this. They're starting to move as groups and that's dangerous. There's at least a hundred of them." His voice was soft against my ear before he pulled away from the window and tugged me along with him. "We got lucky." He stated as he moved to his feet and wandered over to our supplies._

_I bit my lower lip and shifted to sit on my rear, wincing as I tugged the boots off my feet. "That wasn't luck, Jean. That was your amazing senses. I'd be dead without you." I glanced at him from my bangs as I tugged off my sock on my left foot._

_"You'd also get hurt less." He chuckled softly, gathering up a few things before returning to me. "I really am sorry." A frown came to his face that I tugged him down to kiss away. When I pulled away, his tanned cheeks were flushed but there was a smile on his face that warmed his heart. Yup, I loved this man. I loved him so much. There was no denying that. Even if neither of us had said those exact words. And then I noticed the way his eyes widened and his eyebrows shot up, disappearing into his bangs. His mouth hung open slightly and it was then that I realized I had spoken out loud. Oops._

_"Uh..." I blinked, feeling my cheeks flush darkly though I couldn't tear my eyes away from his. Welp, Not much I could do now. So I swallowed hard and smiled softly. "Yea. I love you."_

_Jean was quiet for a few seconds before a grin spread across his face. "You pick the randomest times to do stuff like this to me." He mumbled before leaning forward, pressing his lips to mine. My body relaxed at the touch, glad I didn't scare him away, and allowed him to push me onto my back as he crawled over me. A knee settled between my spread legs, hands slipped up my sides and that sinful mouth pressed against mine while my arms slipped around his neck, pulling him closer._

_My heart stuttered and my breath came a little harder as he slipped that tongue along my lips that immediately parted for him. Jean released a soft groan as he pressed closer, still hovering over me as we kissed. Of course I loved this man. How could I not? I was stuck as soon as I took his hand months ago. It was easy to become lost in the way Jean kissed me. It was always sweet and full of passion but never pressured. And I loved that about him._

_A hissed escaped my lips, forcing them away from his when I moved my own ankle, remembering how badly it was hurt. Jean gave my lips once last peck before he pulled himself from me. I knew that look. It was his "I'm really really sorry, I'll make it up to you by loving you to death" look. He settled on his knees at my feet as I sat up, watching with a flushed face as he gently ran his fingers over my ankle. I hated that he blamed himself. I was just accident prone. Really._

_"I think it's just twisted. I'm no doctor. What do you think nurse?" He asked with a soft smile, glancing up at me with amused golden eyes._

_I rolled my eyes at his reference. "I never finished medical school, Jean." I pointed out as I leaned forward, grasping my ankle in my hands. I let my fingers run over it for a moment, putting pressure in certain spots and wincing at a bit of pain._

_"You still know more than I do. Two years of education is better than none." He spoke, referring to the two years I spent in college after high school. Jean had managed to graduate high school but after that, he went into the working world. Because of that, for some reason, he was convinced I was smarter than him. I begged to differ really. I was book smart. Jean... Jean was street smart. The combination was the reason both of us were still alive._

_"Well, it's not broken." I told him softly, tilting my foot so I could see both sides. "It's a little swollen but it's not too bad. Just sprained like you said. A little rest and I'll be as good as new."_

_"Wonderful." Jean pushed a bottle of water and a bottle of Tylenol into my hands before he started to unravel a roll of bandages. "I'm just going to wrap it up to prevent you from moving it too much."_

_I nodded, taking a sip of water along with two pills. That Wal-Mart trip really saved our lives. I watched in slight amusement as Jean started to wrap my ankle. He held my heel with gentle fingers and slowly but tightly started to wrap the bandage around my ankle and foot. His touch was gentle, his concentration was fierce and I couldn't help but smile. I always knew Jean cared about me but it was moments like this when I remembered how much. I was lucky to have him. So damn lucky._

* * *

My lips curled downwards, a frown crossing my face as my brow furrowed. I raised my crossbow to eye level and aimed. I stood still for a moment, just watching as the little boy stumbled over his own feet to come toward me. The skin was ripping away from his mouth, revealing a set of small teeth that were covered in blood. His eyes were long gone and his clothes were tattered.

I released a soft hiss, noticing how little effort he put into coming toward me. It was like his instinct was urging him on but his body no longer had the ability to move like it wanted. He'd been dead a long time, that much was obvious. He had to been around four or five when he died. But that didn't matter to me. He was dead. He'd been dead for a long time. That was all that mattered.

The thunk of an arrow hitting home gave me a slight sense of satisfaction. The small boy fell forward and I approached, dropping my bow to my side as I ripped the arrow from his head. I hissed softly, wiping the blood on my pant leg before reloading the arrow in my bow. I only had a few after all; I couldn't afford to waste any. There wasn't another walker in sight and I wondered if the boy was a straggler from the few horde's I'd passed. It seemed they were started to just turn into packs and travel like that. I wasn't sure why, but it was disturbing and worrisome.

With a grunt, I lifted my crossbow to rest against my shoulder and I continued walking on, headed toward the rather large looming wall in the distance. I was a good fifteen or so miles away and yet I could still see the looming wall. It piqued my interest so I continued on in that direction.

* * *

_My voice was soft as I spoke, reading aloud to the male my back was pressed against. Jean's arm rested over my shoulder, practically wrapping around my chest as my back leaned against his side. My knees were bent, pulling close so I could rest the open book against them. Jean was quiet as I read to him but every once in a while I'd feel him shift and idly play with my hair. I was beginning to wonder if he was even listening to me._

_It was our second night in our new home. The attic was no longer safe. Not since a horde decided to move into town and not leave. We traveled for a while before finding the bunker we now called home. It was by chance that we found it and I was counting on the fact that perhaps Jean really was a good luck charm. We managed to bring most of our stuff with us and it was a nice little home that we hoped we wouldn't have to leave too often._

_"Hey, Armin." Jean spoke suddenly, breaking my concentration._

_I blinked, tilting my head back against his chest to meet his eyes. He smiled down at me and wasted no time in pressing his lips to mine. It was an awkward angle but still a sweet kiss. I smiled against his lips but pressed back against them, enjoying the feel of his warmth flowing over my entire body. A soft pleased moan came from the back of my throat though it twisted into a soft whine when he pulled his lips from mine._

_"I love you." He murmured against my lips and nearly caused my heart to burst through my chest. Because even though I had said those words a while ago, Jean had never said them back. Not until this moment. Why he chose now, I didn't really care. I just let the warmth fill me, a smile spread to my face and my back to arch, lifting a hand to cup the back of his head to pull him down for a passionate kiss._

* * *

The brakes of the dimly painted red bike I road squeaked slightly as I came to a stop. My eyes widened slightly and I pressed a foot to the ground, steadying myself as I stared up at the wall. I was still a good five miles but it was almost overwhelming how _large_ it was. What could possibly be inside? Was it safe? Was it chaos? When was it built? How was it built? So many questions and yet no one to answer them. But the wall was not why I stopped.

There wasn't a zombie in sight but the low rumbling caused a rock to settle in the pit of my stomach. It was a familiar sound. The sound of a herd. But the ground shook. Even when there was hundreds of them, the ground did not shake like this. My breath caught in my throat and I glanced over my shoulder, narrowing my eyes over the crossbow attached to my back to try and see down the road I was traveling down.

And then I was shaking. Because rolling down the road in my general direction was a _tank._ A fucking military tank. Large, rumbling, and headed toward me. I could only stare in awe and confusion as the tank made it's way toward me. The closer it got the more I realized I had to fucking _move_ or it would run over me. So with a gasp, I quickly jumped off the bike and moved it, pulling it to the side of the road. I could only stand there as the tank neared and I noticed it wasn't alone.

Behind the military tank, rolled along two military jeeps along with a handful of foot soldiers walking along beside them. _Foot soldiers._ Humans! The bike dropped from my hands. I hadn't seen another human since Jean... It fell to the ground with a soft clank just as the tank started to pass by. My eyes were stuck on the tank and I didn't have a chance to notice my arm was suddenly grabbed and I was tugged to face a rather tall blonde male with a scowl on his face. He searched my eyes for only a second before releasing me and turning back to the jeep that had stopped right in front of me.

"Human!" He called, stepping away from me, positioning the gun in his hand at a relaxed angle.

I swallowed hard, unsure of what to do. I hadn't actually interacted with another human in _months._ I glanced around frantically, taking in the way those soldiers were looking at me before my eyes landing on the rather tall slicked back blonde man who was now crawling out the passenger side of the jeep. And tall he was. At least a foot and a half taller. He walked toward me with an air of authority that I completely ignored as I stared up at him.

"Infected?" The man asked, pausing in front of me with his hands behind his back. His eyes were on me but it appeared his question was directed to the other blonde solider near me.

"It does not appear so, sir."

The man's stern face relaxed and yet all I could do was stare. "How old are you, son?" His voice was soft, with a hint of pity in it that knocked me back to my senses. He was talking to _me._

But my throat froze up. I couldn't even remember the last time I spoke a real word. So I coughed slightly behind my hand and stood up a little straighter. "Twenty." I answered softly, my voice managing to not crack though it was horse from disuse.

The male perked an eyebrow but held out one of his large hands. "Commander Erwin Smith." He introduced.

For a few seconds I could only stare at his offered hand. _Commander?_ There was still a military? I took a deep breath, squaring my shoulders as I slipped my much smaller hand into his, shaking his firm grasp. "Armin Arlert."

"I assume you are alone." He spoke as he released my hand and relaxed his stance though his eyes still had yet to leave mine. I nodded to his question, tearing my eyes from his to glance at the soldiers around him. None of them were looking at me. Their eyes were focused on glancing around them. "Do you have any useful skills?"

At the abrupt question, I snapped my eyes to his. "What type of question is that?"

"An important one. Do you?" His expression was serious but his blue eyes hid a bit of softness. Even though I could see the same look in them I saw when I looked in a mirror. He'd seen hell. And survived.

"I have two years of nursing school under my belt." I shifted my shoulder, rocking the crossbow attached there. "And I'm not a bad shot with this."

Those light blue eyes gazed over the crossbow before focusing on my face once again. "Medical skills? That's quite important. And rare." The faintest of smiles came to his thin lips before he finally looked away from me, dragging his eyes to the large wall. "I assume you were headed toward the walls. Come along." He motioned with his hand before heading back to the jeep. "We'll give you a lift. Bertholdt, allow me." The man was speaking to a tall tanned male who was driving said jeep. The soldier quickly obliged his commander and moved to walk beside the jeep while Erwin took the driver's seat.

I approached the jeep, pausing at the passenger side as I glanced up at Erwin, suspicious and slightly annoyed. Who was this man and what made him think I wanted his help? I could make it to the wall just fine on my own. I noticed the way his eyes narrowed slightly and the corner of his lips curved up ever so slightly. Oh, glad I could amuse you commander.

"No one says you have to trust me, Armin. I wouldn't blame you if you didn't. But a man like you could be of great use to us, so I can't just allow you to walk away."

I narrowed my eyes slightly. "Is that a threat?"

"It's more of a desire."

There was a chance I could be killed. A chance I couldn't trust these men and a chance they weren't trustworthy. There was also an equal chance that I could trust them and that they really only wanted to help. Use me for my knowledge perhaps. Though honestly, I was okay with that. I had skills that might be useful.

"Why?" It was the only question I was able to speak. Though to his credit, Erwin seemed to understand exactly what I was asking.

"Because there are a lot of people behind those walls, Armin, and way too few doctors."

I chewed on my bottom lip, glancing around at the soldiers who still refused to look at me. I was headed to the walls anyway. And this way, I wasn't alone. Though, I preferred to be alone. I knew now what was behind those walls. People. And a lot of them according to Erwin. Though, he could have been lying... He didn't seem like a man who lied...

With a sigh, I tugged the crossbow from my shoulder, noticed the way the blonde soldier beside me flinched, pulled my bag from my other soldier and slipped into the seat beside the commander. My body was stiff with my things gathered in my lap but Erwin seemed satisfied and started up the jeep once more, the convoy heading along behind the tank that was now a good deal ahead.

"Smart choice, Armin." I glanced at the large male whose eyes were still focused on the road. "I'm relieved to be honest. There really are too many sick people and not enough doctors to take care of them."

"I'm no doctor. I didn't even finish school." I pointed out.

"It's enough." He glanced up at the wall before shifting his eyes to mine. "Welcome to Trost, Armin Arlert."

I bit my lower lip and glanced up at the looming walls, a strange feeling settling in the pit of my stomach. If they killed me, at least I'd be with Jean. If they didn't, at least my skills would be put to use.

**Author's Note:**

> So as I'm sure you can assume, this isn't over. I have about two more parts planned out for this. They will be separate stories. Like this is from the first.
> 
> Anyway, what did you think? Let me know? This is more of a transition period piece where armin deals with jean's death. I really hope you picked up on... how he changed.
> 
> And in case you were wondering. This story will be Eremin eventually.
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to read!
> 
> ~Addy~


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